Lengthy Detailed Experience with Dr, Lopez in Tijuana, Mexico AMAZING!
Wednesday June 18th- Today I start my journey to surgery in Mexico. My plane departs at 4:30pm and I will land in San Diego at 7:05pm. I have been contacted by the Driver and arrangements have been made as far as pick up at the airport. He sent a text message with a picture of himself in front of the vehicle he will be driving as well as his phone number. I am so excited. No time to be nervous. I landed in San Diego without a hitch. I kept myself hydrated well and continued to feel fine the entire trip. I claimed my baggage and went curbside to wait on Willie the driver. He was there immediately. I identified his vehicle, he recognized that I was waving at him we were set. He loaded my luggage, and we were off. It is a 20 minute drive depending on traffic to the border. He was very helpful and informative on the ride to Tijuana. He answered any and all questions I had and he told me about himself and how he came into the driving position for Specialized Bariatric. He was very nice and the conversation was comforting. There was absolutely no language barrier. He spoke English well. We arrive at the Marriott and are met by the bellhops immediately. Willie walked with me to check into the hotel and made sure that everything was set and accurate. He did not leave my side until me and the bellhop was heading to my assigned room. Willie the driver was asking around for our contact person Tatiana while I was checking in. When he found out she was not there, they provided me with an envelope that had instructions for all the questions I had. Enclosed in the envelope was a detailed list of what was provided free at the hotel (2 bottles of water, broth, Jell-O, Popsicle etc.) a 3 page health assessment to be filled out prior to going to the hospital as well as a specific time to be in the lobby to be taken to the hospital the following morning. I went by myself, so I actually had to “check-out” of the hotel the morning I was going to the hospital for surgery. If you had family with you, they had the option to keep the room until your return. Everyone at the hotel was exceptional. There was a very nice restaurant on the lobby floor of the hotel. They accommodated your broth and Jell-O needs without a hitch. You are always provided a ticket/check at the end of the meal, but it was already “taken” care of. Basically they just wanted you to have a copy, or provide a tip or signature, but the broth meal was free. If you are too tired to go to the restaurant, you could call room service and have it delivered free of charge as well. There were still no language barriers. Although some hotel staff spoke more broken English then others, you could still communicate easily with each other. The hotel room itself was VERY nice and clean. There were bottles of water provided and all the comforts of any other hotel in the U.S. I was a bit confused at first as to how to turn on the lights in the room, but the bellhop helped in that area. You actually had to insert your door key into a device on the wall before the lights were activated. In using the elevator, you also had to insert your key and then press the assigned floor to which you were staying. The trouble with that was, the ice machines were on different floors then I stayed, so I could not get to the ice machines. But it was easily solved. I just called room service to deliver Ice to me. (You are only allowed access to the floor you are staying on with the security of the key card) I rested well.
June 19th- I and two other surgery patients were picked up in the hotel lobby at 6:40am by the driver named Raul. Raul is super sweet and assisted with so many things. Once we arrived at the hospital we were met by Niecy another coordinator for Dr. Lopez. She was very sweet and helpful with everything. She guided us through the hospital to the lab area were we received our blood draw. At that point, she accepted out cashier’s checks and guided us to a waiting area where we all sat. The first lady was called back. At that point she was put in her room and prepped for surgery. I was next to be called. I was taken to the 4th floor and shown to my room. I was met by a sweet nurse that provided me with a gown and TED hose (circulation hose) to put on. At that point, I had an EKG performed (more about that in a minute) and my IV access was started. It is about 9:00am by this time and I am lying in my bed simply contemplating all that is happening. Several doctors enter my room one at a time during the next hour and a half. The OR nurse also came to my room to meet me and let me know she would be in the OR and recovery with me the entire time. The last person to see me was the Anesthesiologist. She was a very sweet lady and covered every question that I had. She told me that they do not insert a Foley catheter for the sleeve procedure so it was very important for me to try and urinate before I went to surgery. She left and I immediately went to the restroom thinking they would be in to get me in about 20 minutes. When I came out of the bathroom, the wheelchair was there waiting. By this time it was 10:30 am and we were on our way to the surgical suite. As I lay on the surgical bed, there was a clock that said 10:35am. That was the last thing I remember until 2:30pm when I woke up back in my hospital room. I recall them telling me to take big deep breaths and applying a pulse ox to my finger. I was pretty groggy most of the afternoon, but did manage to get out of bed and walk at 3:30ish. I needed to send emails to my family to let them know how I was doing. I remember throughout the night having shoulder and chest pain, so I just made sure I turned and moved a lot. I did get up more that evening and walk the floor. Turning and walking helped with the gas pain. The nurses attended to me like clockwork. I never had to ask for pain medications because they were always there administering it right on time. I never experienced any nausea at all. I do know each time they medicated me, I was receiving and antibiotic, a pain medication and an anti nausea medication. But I did well. The next morning I got up and showered without difficulty. The shower was amazing. Soon after, they came to change my dressings. At this point I still had a drain so that was somewhat bothersome, but tolerable. As the say went on, I rested and walked, rested and walked. Dr Lopez caught me in the hallway as I was walking and touched base with me on the surgery and how everything went. It was comforting to know he was tracking me down to find me and speak with me. The next morning I showered and was told that I would be discharged anytime between 11:00-12:00 by the other coordinator Tatiana. It was a good thing because I was getting anxious and ready to go. I was discharged and taken back to the Marriott.
It was now Saturday June 21st. Because I went alone, I had to recheck into the hotel. The Marriott did not a room ready/clean at that time so I hung out in the restaurant and lobby. That was probably the only frustrating part that I have to complain about. The day when you really would like to go lay down and rest, the room was not ready. But hindsight, it was probably for the best. It took about an hour and a half until the room was ready. Raul the driver had let us know that we had a massage available to us for $60 if we opted for that, as well as a tour of Tijuana. We had to let him know a little in advance so that he could make arrangements. I did opt to have the full body massage. Raul had arranged for my massage to be at 4pm the day I was discharged from the hospital. I think I got to my room about 1:30 or 2pm, and I laid down to rest for a while. Raul called about 3:50 and let me know that he and the massage therapist were down stairs and would be coming up to my room momentarily. Raul and Robert arrived to my room where Robert began setting up his massage table etc. He was very professional and is trained in post surgical massage. Let me tell you… That was the best $60 I ever spent. Not your typical tissue massage but well worth the relaxation. He was done in an hour and I was so relaxed. I call room service to order some broth and Jell-o and laid back down in bed. My room did have a coffee maker, so when I couldn’t eat all of my broth, I would pour the broth into the coffee pot and turn it on to keep it warm. I “drank” what I could and went off to dreamland for a sound night’s sleep.
June 22nd - We were due to meet in the lobby at 1pm the next day for our city tour of Tijuana. I took my time getting around. The nurse Fatima showed up at my room about 12:30 to take out my drain. I was not aware when the drain removal would be happening so it was a nice surprise. I was looking forward to exploring the city without the tube. The removal was not painful, but weird. I could actually feel the tube move in my abdominal area as she was pulling it out. It was a very different feeling to say the least. There were I think 10 of us that went on the city tour that Raul provided us. He took us the “ghetto” side of TJ as well as the “upper class” area. He was very informative and a great tour guide. I enjoyed the tour and downtown shopping immensely. We returned to the hotel and went to the restaurant to consume our liquids. Then I went up to the room and rested, watched TV and prepared for the flight home the next day. June 23rd- I was to meet the driver in the lobby at 8am so that he could get me to the airport on time for the flight schedule. My flight departed San Diego at 12:45 but because we had to cross the border, they always a lot for plenty of time in case any secondary searches arise. We were allowed to go through the “medical Line” when crossing the border because there were three of us heading to the airport. The medical line is a faster line to go through, but we were still detained for over an hour. They questioned one of the ladies riding with us for some unknown reason. They told her that they had a warrant for her arrest, but in the end they had nothing. The driver (Arturo) explained to us that they sometimes will just a pick a person to harass and it was our unlucky day. We had to go through the secondary search which is where they actually cuffed and questioned the lady that was riding with us. I was a bit freaked out. She continually told them she had just had surgery and was trying to get to the airport, but they walked her back across the border for questioning. The driver (Arturo) told us that sometimes the border patrol makes up things, or simply just detains people just to see how the occupants react. He said that just waiting people out often times gets them the criminals they need that are trying to smuggle. The driver also said it was NOT that common to be selected for a secondary search while going through the medical line. He said that he might get selected 4 times a year for a secondary search. We were just the selected car that day. We arrived at the airport about 10:30am with plenty of time to check bags and go through security. Our plane was delayed about 20 minutes, but the flight home was uneventful. I had a plane change in Las Vegas and arrived at my destination at 7:15pm with an hour drive to home. I was tired but felt good the entire time.
Hospital- Lots of people have asked me what the Hospital itself was like. I myself have been in and out of the hospital all my life due to chronic conditions, so I have become accustom to seeing a set standard to say the least. I am also an RN, BSN and work in an operating room every day in my rural local hospital. With that being said, the hospital was SIMPLE and CLEAN. The best way I could describe it was that I was lifted out of modern technology and placed in a hospital from the late 1980’s to early 90’s. There was no wasteful use of things. Instead of having individually wrapped Alcohol pads, they use cotton balls saturated in alcohol. Instead of using IV pumps, they simply used an IV pole, titrate the fluid to gravity and frequented the room to make sure the fluid was running. Instead of using computers to chart and document, they had simple ½ white binders to keep each patient document together. Instead of a fancy ice machine to provide crushed ice, you heard the nurses using tools to crush the ice off of a block. The only thing disposable that I saw in the hospital was the small Dixie cups that the ice was provided in to each patient. The entire floor of the hospital where I stayed always smelled of Gold dial soap. It was pleasant to smell only soap instead of a mixture of cleaning products, food, candles etc that we smell in most other hospitals. The hospital beds were Stryker brand and were electronic so that you could lower and raise the head and feet. There were also bed side tables that were adjustable to your preference. Although they were not the newest model of Stryker bed, they were also about 25 years old but clean. The linens were crisp and clean as well as the towels and wash cloths. Most facilities in the United States use disposable pillows. It was obvious this was not disposable, but washed frequently as it lumped easily after some use. I also took note of the operating room as I was wheeled in and I can say the same about the operating room. Although there were no disposable drapes and towels like the US is accustomed too, the sterilized reusable sheets and towels are appropriate and used more in the US then people realize. The operating room equipment was also newer then I expected and although not the latest technology, it did NOT seem to be 3 decades old. Oh, and back to the EKG machine ( I almost Forgot) Well that was a first for me. I have only ever seen the newest in technology when it comes to an EKG machine. (Checking your heart.) In the U.S., the technician will apply 12 sticky pads to your extremities and chest area and attached long cords to each pad to get an accurate look at the heart waves. When they rolled the EKG machine into my room I almost died of laughter. It was accurate and worked great, but I was not prepared for the device they used. The EKG machine electrodes were not connected to 12 sticky disposable pads, but there were 4 metal car battery type clamps attached to each extremity and 6-8 metal suction cups attached to your chest and abdominal area. That was the one and only time I thought to myself; “Did I make the right decision?” Once I got home, I “googled” that type of EKG machine and it is an appropriate older model, but I was flabbergasted in the moment. I would recommend this hospital and doctor to any and all of my friends who inquired. They do things just as we did 3 decades ago, which was standard at that time. Because we are more technologically advanced, does not mean how they do things are wrong or inaccurate. Week 1 post op: I have felt amazing. Still some occasional shoulder pain and periodic pain at incision sites which is to be expected. I finished my Keflex that was provided to me as well as the Tordol that was provided. I was back to work 6 days post op without problems. The most difficulty I has was about day 6 post op, I began getting severe heartburn. I did have a hiatal hernia repaired, but I did not experience any type of heartburn before surgery. My hiatal hernia caused me chest pain more than anything. After teaspoons of the antacid they provided to no avail, I decided to put myself on Prilosec OTC. I have not experience any of that pain again. I also thought that I could “eye ball” portion sizes and not measure things appropriately. Take it from me! IT DOES NOT WORK! MEASURE! MEASURE! MEASURE! It will save you lots of time and agony. Approximately 10 days post op, I guess I over drank broth and I heaved for 2 hours. It was miserable. After about 11 days post op, I no longer had pain when taking drinks of liquid. In the beginning if I took a large drink, it would cause pain. I am now able to take a normal drink without pain. That kind of just happened over night. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the surgery and I am feeling fabulous. My journey started at 254 lbs. I lost 12 lbs before surgery in the liquid protein/salad diet. As of today, I am 20 lbs lighter loosing 8 lbs since surgery. I am grateful for Dr Lopez and his staff and my dear friends who enlightened me to his practice and availability.
There was not any "security" at the hospital. I relied on the WiFi at the hospital and Marriott in order to communicate with my family back home. I locked my iPhone and iPad in my suitcase for whatever that was worth during my surgery. Other then that, both were kept on my bedside table and I had zero issues as far as people in the room etc. The Wifi at the hospital was unpredictable. It was "in and ou"t and made it difficulty to get timely messages to my family, but they survived. The Marriott WIFI was great. No issues there.
